Wielder of the Evoker
by IAmRye
Summary: Sora is going on another mission to help save his friends, but this time he is unable to use the keyblade. Feeling despair cling to his heart as he joins SEES, he begisn to see that there is darkness at every turn in Tartarus.
1. Begin the Dark Hour

The hum of the train as it sped off, left Sora with a hallow feeling inside. His thoughts were clouded with that of despair. He hadn't a single clue where to go next - yet, he had clear instructions written on the paper that he now clutched in his fist. Looking down at the paper as he brought it close to his face, he squinted into the dim light. The moon above was full, and gleamed brightly. But not bright enough it seemed. Sora still had a tough time being able to comprehend what was typed out on this perfectly white sheet of paper. He could feel little grainy particles stuck to the surface, and absentmindedly began wiping them off; though none would ever come off. Sighing, Sora finally gave up. He vaguely had an idea on what he was supposed to do next, and put one foot in front of the other; or rather, large boot in front of the other. Though he had abandoned his old outfit, for one more cliche with the environment, he still could not leave behind his signature boots. They had to be big, with enormous toes on the ends protecting his own, hidden within. They flopped loudly onto the concrete ground beneath him, and made him stick out like a sore thumb. A timid breeze whispered on by, picking up a few strands of his hair and placing them in annoying spots on his face. His upper lip curled slightly in disdain, his index finger swiping at his brow to remove the locks. With ease they quickly flipped up into his spiked hair - that too, had changed. It was shorted now, and a bit flatter - though still spiky as always. No one could change such little details in Sora, as they made up his very character. The downright personality of him.

A large clock shook the ground, vibrating the area around him as it chimed out loudly. The pendulum swinging back and forth slowly, almost taunting the young boy as he stopped in his tracks. Staring at this large city-center clock in awe. He had never really witnessed something like this. . and the way it rung out made him want to cringe, but he couldn't help but open his ears more to listen to the clamorous chimes of the clock. And with that. . the world immediately went quiet. It were as if this tower ruled all, and decided with those final chimes of midnight that the world would shut down.

Sora could feel his brows furrowing together in confusion. Though it was quiet before once he had gotten off the train, it hadn't been this quiet. Not dead quiet. . eerily dead quiet. Shuddering to himself, he rubbed a hand up and down his arm and continued his way. Down the sidewalk the male flip-flopped, stopping often to readjust his clothes on his small frame. He wasn't used to such attire, though he was sure to get used to it within due time. His soft pink lips parted to breath out a deep sigh of air, which formed a steamy white cloud in front of him. Chuckling to himself, he could feel a timid smile crack on his lips; which then, of course broke his dry lips. The faint taste of blood tainted his mouth, and quickly took away that one moment of joy from him. Sora had never felt this gloomy, and hoped to never feel this way again. Having to travel to a whole new universe almost. . to look for something that wasn't clear or obvious. He had such a great mystery to solve, and just felt too tired to do so. But he knew that he had to. It meant a friend's life. And for that, he would give his own.

Ahead, in the night fog that had begun with his journey down the empty sidewalk, Sora spotted a silhouette. It was quite square, and stood absolutely still. Thinking it to be a random object, Sora quickly rushed over to it and gasped. It was a very large casket that seemed to glow a luminescent green. This caused great contemplation in the brunette. What was this thing doing here? And in the middle of the street as well - just standing still there, upright yet almost tilted at the same time. It rung bells in his head, louder than that of the clock, his feet reaching behind him to stumble. The ground shifted beneath him with his shock, and the world began to spin. A casket. . a casket. Weren't those for the dead? What was a dead body, or so, empty body-holder doing in the middle of the street, in this city that was too new to him? Too new to be real even!

Gulping in deep gasps of breath, Sora turned around and raced off into the fog. He didn't truly care where he ended up, he just wanted to be anywhere but there. His gasps of air, turned into quick and fearful pants. His legs began to ache as he turned corners, and ventured down alley's. Praying that no one would take the chance to jump him, even mug him - though that didn't seem likely, since it was still dead quiet. The silence was getting to him. He could feel sweat drip down the side of his pale face, beginning to form on the back of his neck as he ran. . and ran. And then off, in the distance he could finally see it. A light shining through the fog, giving him some sort of hope inside. It was a pair of street lamps, sitting lonely beside each other. But at least they had one another to keep company. Keeling over, Sora placed his hands on his knees - really, he began to claw at them for balance. His mouth was wide open, swallowing and choking on the oxygen he desperately wanted to intake. Finally, he was able to catch his breath and flick the sweat from his forehead. The night air chilled the perspiration at the back of his neck, and he had to shake himself down to fully gain control of his mental state.

His gaze began to scan his surroundings. Currently, Sora was standing in front of a dorm room. The numbers nailed to the front looked oddly familiar. . taking out the piece of paper he had stuffed in his waist band in a rush, he unfolded it and then read over the details in the street light's glow. Printed on the surface of the grainy sheet of paper, was the address that he now stood at. Feeling the greatest heaps of relief pile atop him, he gladly urged his way up the rock staircase to the dorm room. It was dark inside as he opened the unlocked door, only a tiny desk light left on, at the front desk. With a questioning expression, Sora ventured his way deeper into the dorm before he was stopped. He could feel the horrid, gut-dropping sense that someone was staring intently at him. Turning around, there stood a small boy. He was dressed in what looked like prisoner's clothes, decked out with black and white stripes. Appeared to be a one-sy. A full body outfit, that was even supposed to cover your toes; though, not in this case. The foot part was cut off, replaced with socks and sandels - quite the bad fashion mix-up. He had ink black locks, that resembled night. His big bright blue eyes shone, though there was little light for them to shine. A small smirk - or timid grin - was placed on his small lips, until finally a giggle rippled between them. Sora cringed at the sound, though it was sweet and light; despite, Sora felt as if this young boy were taunting him.

"Hello there" The young boy said, tilting his head slowly to the side. His hands were linked together behind his back, a very childish posture.

"Uh. . Hi." Sora said slowly, wondering if he should continue deeper into the dorm, or even find help. But what if he were a resident here? Sora was so absolutely confused that he could feel his temples throb, and he would even talk to a strange boy to be able to alleviate it.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time." The young boy giggled once more to himself, and slowly the hands behind his back shifted. He seemed to draw a piece of paper out of thin air, and then began to direct it towards Sora. "If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract" He said bluntly, his expression dulling. The boy must have interpreted the look on Sora's face - though there wasn't much to decipher - as he then said "There's no need to be scared." Dumbfounded, Sora stayed silent as the unknown boy continued. "It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

Finally, out of sheer curiosity Sora took the page from the unknown boy. Printed on the sheet was "I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." Bewildered with this way of English, Sora spotted the blank space below. A dotted line, for him to sign. _If I sign this, will this all be over with..?_ Sora thought to himself, shaking his head and placing the sheet on the nearby counter. Coincidentally, there was a pen right beside it. Picking up the object, Sora quickly scribbled his name upon the sheet and turned to look at the ink-haired boy.

"Very well," The boy said, taking the sheet carefully. He seemed to analyze it for a brief moment, before turning his glimmering eyes onto Sora once more. "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away." _What a weird thing to say,_ Sora thought. . wishing he hadn't signed that sheet. With an almost mischevious smirk, the last thing he said was "And so it begins. . " And then he disappeared within thin air. He'd melted into the darkness.

"Who's there?" A female voice said, breaking through his muddled consciousness. Jumping, Sora jerked around quickly to lay eyes on a young female, wearing a school uniform with a bow alike his own. Her eyes were harsh, cold even. Not one ounce of welcome within them, as she shakily brushed her short locks from her face and behind her ear. A slight flash of recognition crossed her face, and she began to mutter something to herself in a shocked tone; a gun was clutched tightly in her hand, hidden by her side. Staring at it, wide-eyed Sora was completely speechless. Just when Sora felt this female close in, with the eagerness to rip off his face, another female voice entered the battle.

"Wait!" She said, and then the lights flicked out. Cringing with the abrupt brightness, Sora's eyes laid on an older-looking female with long red hair. It curled over her shoulder, brushed over one side. Her expression was full of unknown expressions, though wasn't as harsh as that of the other female. "He's meant to be here. He is the new resident that will begin to live here with us." The female said, directing each word to the other beside her. The girl seemed to calm down, and take a few steps back. "I am Mitsuru Kirijo, I hadn't expected you to arrive so late. But I am one of the students who live in this dorm."

The other girl sighed and seemed to curl her shoulders up at Mitsuru's explanation. "Hi, I'm Yukari," She finally said, reluctant to give up such information. Mitsuru then began to explain how Sora would attend their school within due time. Feeling a deep sleep tug at his insides, he could no longer cage the yawn within him. His mouth opened, and it burst out like a lion's roar. Mitsuru laughed, a small grin spreading across her red lips. They were just a shade lighter than her hair, and were so pretty.

"I see that you must be tired from such a long trip. I'll show you to your room" Mitsuru said, following Sora's gaze that continued to wander to the gun at Yukari's side. Her hand pressed into the small of Sora's back, directing him to the staircase that lead to the rooms. Her gaze was sharp, and accurately displayed her emotions. She was scolding Yukari for holding that gun, despite her efforts to hide it. Sora had seen it, clear as day. And though his slow mind began to wander into the thought of why she had it, he couldn't hold onto the thought firmly enough. Within time, the two were standing outside a door. "Here is your room" Mitsuru said, opening the door and helping Sora with his bag of clothes and other objects that he had taken with him on his travels. Placing it delicately on the floor, she said a few words of goodnight, before shutting the lights out and closing his door. He swore he could hear the faint locking of it, but he knew it was only his imagination. He had had such a crazy night. Shedding his clothes quickly and eagerly, he flung himself into bed and fell asleep before his head hit the pillows.


	2. First Day

_**Welp, here is the second chapter. I'm real excited about this, and have been going back through my Persona 3 experience - P3P to be exact - so that I can remember everything. I haven't exactly beaten the game. . but it's been a while! So, I present to you the second chapter, which was written with The Poem For Everyone's Souls playing in the background~!. FTW Velvet Room music.**_

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Sora's lids felt so tenderly bruised when he awoke the next morning. His skin prickled with fresh goosebumps as he rose up in his bed, the covers sliding off of his frame as he did so. Such a simple movement wreaked havoc upon him though. His muscles groaned, screaming in protest as he slowly slid his legs over the edge of the bed. Sighing deeply - more so a helpless moan than a sigh - Sora slowly placed his feet on the flooring of his bedroom. With his mental state slowly awakening, he could feel how cool the surface of the floorboards were against his feet. They tickled the bottoms of them, jabbing at his heels eagerly - as always morning cold does to one. That was when he heard a soft, and almost reluctant knock on his door once, before it gained courage as well as energy and became quite loud. Wincing, Sora began to grind at his eyes. Trying to remove the crust from the corners that made him want to sleep so dearly.

"Hey, It's Yukari are you awake?" A voice called through the door, muffled from the thickness of it. Grinding a few more times, and wishing he hadn't been rushed to do so, Sora threw on the pants and shirts that he'd left on the floor the previous night. His bag still rest in the corner, abandoned for this moment. Awaiting when his prying hands would open it, and release its innards. Clearing his throat, Sora rasped;

"Yeah, I am. Come in" And then coughed very softly as his bedroom door creaked open slowly. There, he saw Yukari creep around the door frame, before entering it and finally opening his door. As if she didn't believe he truly was decent, that he was merely playing her. With the first glance that Yukari gave him, Sora knew that she could tell how tired he was. How worn out the trip had made him, adding so many unslept nights to his face. . the bags under his eyes darkening with the moments he kept them open. How Sora craved to just slump back onto his bed, covers or no covers, clothes or no clothes and just let his eyes shut. The weight of them was a lot to bear.

"Morning. Did you sleep okay?" Yukari asked, offering a very warm and reassuring grin. Seeming to have forgotten the hard and unwelcoming manner that she had greeted Sora from last night. Well, life was about forgiveness, and now was her redemption time. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. Are you ready?" Yukari added with a very tiny tilt to her head with the question. It was a habit that Sora noticed some do; it was a sign of curiosity. Though Sora found it silly she asked. What with the dark circles, and ugly glares he was possibly giving her, Sora was completely not able to even move an inch. He was still propped happily on the edge of his bed, just sitting there and praying that he wouldn't have to go. _Couldn't I get one more day of sleep?_ Sora asked himself, though knew he wouldn't be able to. A new life started today, as well as an adventure and one could not skip out. He was doing this. For his friend. He had to achieve his goal. No matter what.

Intaking a large breath for energy, the corners of Sora's lips twitched. "Yeah, yeah. I just need a few more minutes to wake up, okay?" Sora asked politely, and could see the relief on her face. Either she believed he would leave, kicking or screaming or he was letting his imagination play little games with him.

"I'll see you at the front door then" Yukari said cheerily, and then left his dorm room. Closing the door with a soft _click_ as she left. With a grunt of objection Sora heaved himself from his bed, terribly upset to leave its grasps, and then began to pick up new clothing for the school uniform. Sliding on the comfortable and stylish pants, he buttoned them up and slid a belt in the belt loops with ease. Flicking the belt closed he then tugged on a new shirt, rapidly buttoning the buttons. Then came the jacket, a very nice shade of gray or some sort of darker color unknown to him. Feeling bland as he began to tie the black ribbon around his neck, Sora began to inspect himself in the mirror. Though the clothing worked and didn't cling to his thin limbs, Sora didn't feel right wearing such. He was used to the flamboyant pants that looped over his knees like protective bells, and the layers of small tank tops and vests that made him. . well him. The colors were so drained of life as well. No more bright red, blazing with passion. No more yellow that showed his determination. Not even the purest of whites he once wore, that shone brightly with the light inside of him. Now he was stuck with grays and blacks, that just sucked the life out of him.

Kicking on some sneakers - also black - Sora grabbed his new school bag off the desk which he'd tossed the previous night, and then trekked his way down the stairs. Yukari was there, waiting for him as she promised and the two headed out of the dorm. Not speaking a single word.

The train rattled and clanked as it flew across the tracks, speeding at great lengths to get the two to school on time. The car was practically empty except for a few other quiet high school students, wearing their school's uniform. Finally, Yukari laughed timidly to herself and turned to Sora. A very small smile was on her lips, as she began to speak to him; "This is my favorite part... When it feels like you're gliding over the sea" Yukari said, and then glanced out the window. Peering out the clear surface, Sora could feel his chest swell. It was indeed beautiful, the sparkling water below shining in the morning light that spilled into the monorail. He was stricken in total awe as he looked contently at the water, tiny waves lapping silently over each other, creating little noise in a bustling town. Then Yukari pulled him back into reality;

"Our stop is Port Island Station at the end of the line. From there, we walk. If you've ever heard of Tatsumi Port Island, our school was built right in the middle of the man-made island. Look!" She exclaimed, and then pointed at the window, sneaking a peek at Sora from the corner of her eye. "You can see it now from here" Glancing over the girl's shoulder, Sora squinted through the sun's rays and could indeed see the school. Just sitting there, with pretty trees surrounding it, adorned with delicate flowers that probably made a nice scent flow in the wind. He could feel a very small tug of nervousy then, boiling slowly in his chest. Festering like a tiny creature, prepared to pounce. And though the brunette could feel it, he knew he had to ignore it. There was no reason to let it eat him alive.

It was just school, right?

"We would like to welcome Sora into our class. Everyone, please take care of him."

Sora had heard those words spoken throughout his day, with tight smiles, and broad smiles, warm smiles and welcoming ones. Each and every teacher who said these words either meant them, or didn't. It was regulation to ask the students to treat him well. But who could really tell, in school that was so utterly cruel to one, at the worst of times? A cage if you be it, damning students to an eternal hell until they were intelligent enough to get through it all and graduate - to evacuate really, into the real world and into a new layer of hell, full of work and more headaches.

Usually, Sora got a seat at the back, hidden in the shade where he liked it. Nice and cool, with the sun unable to poke at his bruised lids, and force him to squint; making him feel so eager to just shut them completely. But if he did that, he would pass out for sure. As the minutes crossed over one another, molding practically with the teachers voices, Sora found that the day went quite quick for something he slightly dreaded, and then the last bell rang out his freedom. Slowly, he got up from his seat and was greeted with a male, who was slightly lean and just taller than him.

"Hey there, my name's Junpei" The male greeted with a very wide smile, that showed all his teeth. _Why is he talking to me..?_ Sora thought to himself, gathering his stuff into his school bag, watching the male with a dubious glance. "First day is hard huh?" He added, with that same tilt of his head that Yukari did when asking a question. That was when the girl herself appeared, and sighed at Junpei.

"Can't seem to leave anyone alone for any amount of time can you?" She said in a scolding manner, and then Junpei's smile was lost. His eyes narrowed at her before he scoffed. Their relationship didn't seem to be on buddy-buddy means currently.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice here!" Junpei claimed before returning his attention to Sora, the grin returning to his lips. "So, do you want to hang out for a bit? Your name is Sora right?" Junpei said, the name rolling off his tongue. It made Sora shudder. . how casually he spoke to him. It was like he was a small paper boat, drifting on confused waters. Sora usually wasn't like this. He was a bright, and happy boy that was friendly and took every chance he could to make friends. But now, as his years dragged on and he was older, Sora began to lose that sense. Lose that part of himself that was friendly and open, willing to embrace anything. Now he wasn't so sure. He was more secure, and caged his emotion in a better manner than he had before. He wasn't easy to trust people. . because of all the things he'd had to go through. All the back-stabbing, all the controversy and the many people that were chasing after him for his key blade power. And even his friends, who he spent all this time caring for and trying to help. . he felt as if he couldn't even help them anymore. Sora was just a wreck of absolute helplessness and no desire for trying anything anymore.

"Yeah, my name's Sora. It's nice to meet you" Sora said with a light chuckle and pleasant grin. This surprised him. He hadn't expected to be so kind to Junpei, for first words spoken. He usually wasn't now, unless situation given - like last night, with Yukari rushing at him with a gun in hand, now that gave for a pleasant attitude that Sora had to show. "Hang out? Uh. . I guess that'd be cool" He said, and then shrugged his bag over his shoulder.

"Awesome" Junpei said, and Yukari sighed, rolling her eyes as the two boys headed out of classroom 2-F, chatting quietly to each other as they wandered down the school halls.

When Sora walked through the door of his new home, he spotted Mitsuru sitting on the couch, a book in her lap. She glanced at Sora and said; "Welcome back." He nodded to her respectfully, his will burned out from the day he'd spent. His lips couldn't even form the simple word of thanks, as he began his journey up the winding staircase to his room. Grabbing at the door handle, he thrust the door open and then practically poured into the room. Tossing his bag on the floor, he decided to ignore the very small portion of homework he was given for that night. How fair was it to pile on a mountain of homework on a new student anyways?

Shedding his clothes, Sora flew into his bed, snuggling in happily, soft sighs of relief and happiness flooding from his parted lips as he lost himself in the cool and accepting covers. Within moments, he was already asleep.

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**Author's End Note: Oh. Wow. I just realized how slightly boring this chapter was. . maybe boring in a kind manner? Eh. Hope you all liked it. **


	3. Welcome to the Velvet Room

His skin crawled and a rueful smile slowly appeared on his light pink lips. He could feel the cold stare. . that seemed almost familiar. But not in the sense that it was an enemy who was doing this. . but to the extent where he felt a friend so close, yet so far. Whipping around, Sora was only greeted by an unwelcoming darkness. Not merciful in any way as it engulfed him. _Where. . am I. ._ Sora thought to himself, squinting - believing so deeply that it may actually help, though of course it wouldn't. With a deep breath, the young boy turned around and yet again could feel that stare on him. Quickly turning back around again, he saw the flash of a tall frame in the darkness, disappearing once more. _Who is that?_ He thought, before he dug the courage up to yell into the abyss.

"Who's there?" He demanded, and took a few stomping steps for wards, almost tripping over his clumsy feet. There was no response. And Sora knew in his heart that there wouldn't ever be one. But just for a second. . He peered into the heavenly blue eyes, that he was so accustomed to looking at. . But he could not put a finger on whose they belonged to, before he was pulled deeper into the darkness. . falling. . falling. Just falling, and falling. Nothing but falling, with unknown air whipping past him. _No.._

"No!" Sora yelled, startling himself as he flew awake. The sense of his dropping did not leave his chest, and he had to clutch at it eagerly to steady himself. He was still in his bed, in this new dorm room, with all these new people. . in a completely new world, and universe. Searching in the darkness for nothing, yet everything. With that recognition. . Sora knew then, that he was scared. Deathly scared. Of everything that he'd encountered up until this point, and he just didn't want to do it anymore. He didn't want to play hero. Because all he was doing was trying to live a peaceful life.

Sighing deeply to himself, his clammy hands ran over his face, brushing locks of hair back from it. Fingers prying into the spikes to straighten and possibly flatten them. A timid knock came on his door, pulling him from his train of deep thought. "Yes?" Sora called softly, shaking his head and flinging his legs over the side of his bed. Wincing at the bottoms of his feet touched the cool floorboards, greeting him with chills that ran up and down his spine. It was Yukari, her voice softened though the door.

"Ah, you're awake. Do you want to walk to school together today? So you can get to know the route better?" Yukari asked, seeming warmer than she had two days ago - a definite difference it seemed. Nodding to himself, Sora replied his acceptance to the offer and began to throw on his school uniform, tossing random sheets into his bag before grabbing it and slinging it over his shoulder comfortably. Within time, the two were walking out the dorm and headed to the monorail.

Another day to glide over the water.

Class ended soon, and because Sora had no reason to bump into another person like Junpei, so he quickly hopped on his route to head towards the dorm room.

The front door to the dorm creaked open and closed, announcing Sora's entrance quite loudly to those in the area. He stuck his head in, before roaming in. His gaze wandering to Yukari, who had gotten here before him . . she was speaking to a man unfamiliar to Sora - though of course, everyone here would be quite unfamiliar.

"Oh, hey Sora. Welcome back" Yukari said kindly to him, when she noticed him entering. He couldn't conjure up the right, normal words to say so he only bowed his head to Yukari

"So, this is our new guest" The young gentlemen said, with a very nice smile. "Good evening" He said, and Sora returned it with yet another bow. "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the Board for your school" He explained, as if Sora could truly understand the ranking of a chairman in the school system.

"Pleasure to meet you Ikutsuki" Sora said with pleasurable ease, seeming to stop the man from saying something else. Maybe a possible remark on how his name was such a darn tongue-twister, very hard to say.

"I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations" Ikutsuki began, all his attention now on Sora, instead of Yukari as it first was. _Confusion..?_ Sora thought to himself, seeming to not have acknowledged this confusion. "However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?" His eyes blinked up at Sora, curious as to his response. Of course many questions were floating around in his mind. Such as more information to be given as to who he was, because of his lack of intelligence. Maybe even about the other members of the dorm, since he only knew few so far. . All those odd things, like caskets lying around in the middle of the street. The world abruptly going quiet as he was on his journey here - what a horrid experience to go through when venturing into another world. But . . he couldn't do it. He couldn't eagerly ask this man that had pranced in here, anything. He didn't want to really. All he wanted to do was go upstairs and flop onto his bed, shut his eyes and lose himself again. .

"No, not really" Sora murmured softly, kicking at a pile of dust that wasn't there. His bag was feeling so . . heavy, lying there over his shoulder. Couldn't he just go upstairs?

"Are you sure?" Ikutsuki pried, seeing those little fishy inquires lingering behind his gaze, but all he did was shake his head. He was in no mood for any Q's and A's. "Then. . I hope you have a successful school year" Ikutsuki said happily. "Now if you'll excuse me, you must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early" Ikutsuki offered, one that Sora would gladly accept. Nodding his head in agreement, the brunette spun on his heels. Feeling remarks fall on his lips, but only coming out as mere whispers. His feet padded lightly on the staircase as he wound up them and then threw himself into his room. Tossing the bag into the corner, to be shunned for the night. Ripping the dirty clothes off his body and growling with disdain when a button wouldn't undo. It felt so . . so nice to finally close his eyes.

He was spinning..turning.. the world was churning, and so were his insides. It was like a roller coaster gone mad, and he was on it, strapped down and unable to move. And then . . he was flopped down onto a plush seat. It was fuzzy almost in texture, and a purple color. In front of him, was an old-looking male with an eye that seemed to pop out a bit too far, and a nose a bit too long. .

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." He said with a coy smile, one that made Sora's skin crawl. "My name is Igor. . . I am delighted to make your acquaintance" Those words almost seemed forced, or fell dead on his lips as he spoke them. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter.." Igor began to explain to Sora, though he was still dazed from the sleep he was ripped from viciously. "Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place.." Igor added, and then Sora mentally cursed himself. The image of that boy in the prisoner's clothes, giggling and grinning at him with his outstretched hand, holding the piece of paper. . the one he'd signed stupidly. Because he'd done so, he was now stuck to face this random creeper that had pulled him from the darkness of his dreamworld. Having disturbed him. And possibly would continue to. "Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room" Igor said, and Sora could catch the faint chortle caught in the back of his throat. _I don't want to be welcomed here. ._ Sora thought. _In fact, I want to get out._ "You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so" _No, I don't need anyone's help. I can do things on my own, I already have my own power!_ Sora stated mentally, in a defiant manner. But Sora knew already. . deep in his heart that he could no longer use that unique ability. His . . light, his key blade. The one thing that gave him the chance to fight back against the heartless and find his friends, was gone. He could no longer try to solve the mysteries of Kingdom Hearts and Organization 13. It was all done and over, no longer to exist in this world or universe. . and he could never touch the cool surface of his friend again - that key blade, the one that gave him great strength.

"I only ask one thing in return.." Igor said, pulling Sora's mind back into the reality of the situation. "It is that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make." He said, a moment of silence falling on the pair. . _Am I supposed to answer?_ Sora thought to himself, seeing the gaze in Igor's eyes. Almost one of impatience. . indeed he was supposed to.

"I understand" Sora said softly.

"Hold on to this.." Igor said, his gloved hand outstretched. His nose drawing towards him, and making the male feel incredibly nervous with the closeness of it. The Velvet Key was placed into his palm - it was for him to access it whenever he needed. "There is still one more resident of this room, who unfortunately could not be present for your arrival" Igor explained, seeming to be upset that this was true. "But I'll make sure you two are properly introduced. Another time, perhaps. 'Til we meet again.."

Falling. Spinning. Curdling screams of agony, and disdain. Disappointment that he was weak to the effects.

Spinning.

Falling.

Turning.


End file.
